It’s official: Jayson Tatum will make his long-awaited season debut Friday night time at TD Backyard.
Hours earlier than their 7 p.m. tipoff, the Celtics upgraded Tatum from questionable to out there for his or her sport towards the Dallas Mavericks, clearing him to return to motion practically 10 months faraway from Achilles surgical procedure.
Tatum missed Boston’s first 62 video games of the season, throughout which the staff went 41-21 whereas posting the NBA’s second-best internet score. By returning now, the All-NBA wing may have 20 video games to ramp up and reacclimate earlier than the postseason arrives.
It was unclear as of Friday afternoon what that reacclimation period would appear to be, as head coach Joe Mazzulla has not publicly mentioned how he plans to make use of his now-healthy famous person.
What sort of minutes restriction will Tatum be underneath as he builds again as much as his standard commonplace of roughly 36 minutes per sport? Will he instantly rejoin the beginning lineup or come off the bench for a spell? If it’s the previous, who strikes out of the beginning 5: Baylor Scheierman, who’s been an affect defender and rebounder since becoming a member of the highest unit a month in the past, or veteran sharpshooter Sam Hauser?
What tweaks, if any, will Mazzulla make to his system, which has featured a a lot heavier emphasis on offensive rebounding than in earlier seasons (the Celtics are fifth in offensive rebounding price, up from 18th in 2024-25)? And the way will Tatum’s return affect Jaylen Brown, who leads the NBA in field-goal makes an attempt per sport (22.2) and trails solely Luka Doncic in utilization price?
“We solely have (20) video games left, so it’s going to should be a fast course of each time that occurs,” Hauser stated at Friday’s morning shootaround, earlier than Tatum’s standing had been confirmed. “As a lot as you need, like, a grace interval for that, we don’t actually have that luxurious, so we’re all simply going to should determine it out on the fly. That’s factor for us to should problem-solve each time that comes up and determine issues out on our personal. However I believe general, it’s a optimistic.”
Certainly. Regardless of the potential for rising pains, the Celtics are including an elite expertise to a staff that already regarded like a possible championship contender with out him. Tatum made first-team All-NBA and completed within the high six in NBA MVP voting in every of the final 4 seasons. He was Boston’s main scorer and rebounder in every of the final three and likewise paced the staff in assists per sport in 2024-25.
The Celtics may very well be lacking certainly one of their depth wings Friday night time. Jordan Walsh (questionable, sickness) was a late addition to their damage report.
Mavericks rookie standout Cooper Flagg, who returned Thursday after lacking eight video games with a foot damage, was not listed on Dallas’ damage report, clearing the Newport, Maine, native to make his first skilled look at TD Backyard.
